
The BWF World Championships begin next week in New Delhi, India’s first time hosting the event in 17 years. India’s only seeded men’s singles player, Lakshya Sen, enters after a year of…
The BWF World Championships begin next week in New Delhi, India’s first time hosting the event in 17 years. India’s only seeded men’s singles player, Lakshya Sen, enters after a year of early exits and a painful Olympic bronze-match defeat. His coach says he has worked with a psychologist and is now mentally reset, treating opponents as ‘invisible’. Meanwhile, veteran H.S. Prannoy, 34, admitted he did not qualify because he “wasn’t at his best in the last few months”. But he insists he is not ready to fade away and will push for another year or two to return to the top 10.

The easy narrative paints a neat generational shift, old guard fading, young blood rising. But Prannoy's refusal to ‘give up the torch’ and his honest admission that he hasn’t been at his best show a fighter who understands his place without surrendering his ambition. Meanwhile, Lakshya Sen is being sold as a mental reset story, but his coach’s claim that ‘opponents are invisible’ sidesteps the pattern of last-game collapses. The real test isn’t the draw; it’s whether Lakshya can hold his nerve in the quarterfinal against someone like Vitidsarn.
Sources (2): thehindu.com, timesnownews.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.